Bucatini All'Amatriciana with Spicy Smoked Mozzarella Meatballs

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I loved everything about this recipe: simple to prepare and delicious even if you don't have the exact ingredients. I could not find ground veal from 2 butchers or at the market so I used 85% ground beef; and used regular mozzarella balls (not smoked. The meatballs were moist and full of great flavor. The pancetta sauce was wonderfully light. I used the thin slices of pancetta you can buy packaged rather than cubes of the think stuff. I like that texture better. This was such a wonderful change from typical spaghetti and meatballs with red sauce. This received rave reviews from the family!

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Always enjoy Aunt Rafi and Giada together. This was a nice recipe and I think we need to watch the salt as the chefs do seem to add quite a bit. Its our preference. Love the new shows Giada and the few pictures of your baby....just adorable.

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i loooved this recipe. and i loved aunt rafi -- i thought she and giada were great together, just really funny. it' s just what happens when you cook with a family member -- everyone has their own little touch to add but in the end it's always delicious. I substituted bacon for pancetta because it was easier to find (and rafi said it was fine, and i also added about 1/2 cup of white wine vinegar just to try it out. the result was wonderfully tasty. we will definitely be making this again!

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Although Aunt Rafi may have grown up in Rome, I cannot understand why she is the only person who uses vinegar or wine in the recipe. After seeing the conflict on TV, I researched and researched and found that yes, you could cook all together - pancetta, garlic, onions - but NONE of the real recipes called for vinegar or wine as an addition.
I find Aunt Rafi a bit annoying rather than comic. Maybe she should get her own show instead of trying always to compete with Giada on her show. I lived in Italy for many years and am quite familiar with Roman, Siicilian and Napolitan dishes. I will, howver, try both versions becaise I am curious. Thank you, Giada, for a refreshing new series and having a sense of humor with your Aunt!

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Hmm, seems like Giada's Aunt Rafi is just like all my own Italian relatives - generally disagreeable and hard to work with! Oh well. I still like almost every recipe Giada makes so sorry Aunt Rafi!

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I love Giada's recipes but I would leave out the half of the pancetta or bacon with this dish. The combination of the cheese and the tsp of salt was salty enough already and the meatballs could have used less salt as well. I had a difficult time finding veal so I substituted ground pork with the extra lean ground beef I bought. Less is more on this recipe regarding the salt.

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I loved the meatball recipe except I didn't put the cheese inside each ball. I felt the recipe had enough cheese. Even without the cheese centers the meatballs were amazing.

I didn't care for the sauce recipe. I found myself adding seasonings to punch it up.

Loved her Aunt. Would like to see more of her. Really got a laugh from their interplay with each other. It was a great show. Can't wait to try the fried garbonzo beans.

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again, another winner : I couldn't find veal at my grocery store (i went to three, so it was suggested to me that i use ground pork instead. i am not sure how the veal meatball tasted, but the meatball i had was FANTASTIC!! i loved it. especially the smoked mozzarella in the middle...it was oozing out! Delicious! and i loved the pancetta in the sauce. so good : can't wait to make this again!!

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It looks really good. Too bad her aunt contradicted her on everything on her own show. It was funy though. I'll try both their recipes lol.

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I was excited to try this recipe the very day I watched the show. It reminded me of when I was little, a dish my father liked to make - spaghetti and bacon. Since Rafi mentioned she used bacon, so did I, and it was absolutely fine. It was very easy to do, and really delicious. I had never made bucatini before, but was able to find it with no problem at the grocery store. Most definitely, I will make it again!